NOTICE: All rights are reserved by the original copyright holder(s). No Copyright Infringement Intended. This has been made available for historical and educational purposes only under fair use law. I do not acquire any profit from this audio. I claim no ownership of this audio.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]It is not every day that Kentucky football beats out SEC rivals like Alabama and Auburn for a player, but Mark Stoops continues to improve the level of recruiting in Lexington. Today, Hutchinson Community College o…

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama football saw nine of its players dot 11 different preseason watch lists in the past two weeks. Over that time, 17 awards released their preseason watch lists and the Crimson Tide was well-represented once again.

Senior linebacker Reggie Ragland and junior defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson received the most nominations, with four apiece. Ragland and Robinson were each nominated for the Bednarik Award (defensive player of the year), Bronko Nagurski Trophy (most outstanding defensive player) and the Rotary Lombardi Award (down lineman or linebacker). Ragland was also recognized as part of the Butkus Award (top linebacker) watch list, a trophy that only Derrick Thomas (1988), Rolando McClain (2009) and C.J. Mosley (2013) have won in Crimson Tide history.

Robinson joins Jarran Reed, Cam Robinson and Ryan Kelly on the watch list for the Outland Trophy (interior lineman). Alabama has had three Outland Trophy winners, including Chris Samuels (1999), Andre Smith (2008) and Barrett Jones (2011). Kelly is on the watch list for two more awards this preseason including the Rimington Trophy (top center) and the Rotary Lombardi Award.

Derrick Henry enters the new season on three separate watch lists. He will seek to join Trent Richardson as the only players in Alabama history to win the Doak Walker Award (top running back) with his watch list nomination. The junior was also nominated for the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, both of which honor the top player in all of college football.

Jonathan Allen rounds out the trio of Crimson Tide players on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list. Also earning single nominations were O.J. Howard for the John Mackey Award (top tight end) and J.K. Scott for the Ray Guy Award (top punter).

Alabama opens its 2015 season on Sept. 5 in Arlington, Texas, as the Crimson Tide squares off with Wisconsin in the annual AdvoCare Classic inside AT&T Stadium. The matchup is scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT start on ABC.

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaFTBL on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaFBL on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Alabama football fans are some of the most passionate people in the world. You know this. The following is an extreme example of just how passionate they are. According to Dan Wolken, a national college…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Alabama football team had 12 players selected to the 2015 SEC Media Days All-SEC Team Friday. The list of 12 Crimson Tide players was comprised of six first-team members, two second-team honorees and four third-team selections. The squads were chosen by those in attendance at the conference’s annual week-long media day.

The six members of the first team included: offensive linemen Cam Robinson and Ryan Kelly, defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson, linebacker Reggie Ragland, defensive back Cyrus Jones and punter JK Scott. Running back Derrick Henry and defensive lineman Jonathan Allen both were selected to the second team, while the four third-teamers were running back Kenyan Drake, tight end O.J. Howard, defensive lineman Jarran Reed and defensive back Eddie Jackson. Ragland received the third-most votes of any player selected to the preseason teams.

Robinson and Kelly return experience on an offensive line that will look to replace three starters from a season ago. Running behind that line will be Henry, the team’s leader with 990 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns last season, while Drake will return for his final year at the Capstone after an injury-shortened season in 2014. Howard will be looked to throughout the season in the passing game as a veteran amongst a young receiving corps.

An experienced defensive squad, Alabama returns seven of its 11 starters from 2014. Along the front, Robinson, Ragland, Allen and Reed make up a potent front seven. Jones (corner) and Jackson (safety) will look to lead a secondary that must replace two starters from a season ago. Punter JK Scott will look to continue his standout performance from a season ago, in which he led the nation with 48.0 yards per kick and a net punting average of 44.7 yards per boot.

Alabama opens its 2015 season on Sept. 5 in Arlington, Texas, as the Crimson Tide squares off with Wisconsin in the annual AdvoCare Classic inside AT&T Stadium. The matchup is scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff on ABC.

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaFTBL on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaFBL on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.

Although all 14 teams in the SEC were represented at media days in Hoover, Alabama, this week, all eyes were once again on the Alabama Crimson Tide—from the masses of fans clamoring for autographs to the hundreds of reporters in the interview rooms.

The defending SEC champions, who were picked by the media to win the SEC West in 2015 but not the conference, were the biggest draw of the week.

Head coach Nick Saban took the podium Wednesday morning and wasted no time in making some comments that created quite a stir in the college football world.

He was joined by running back Kenyan Drake, offensive lineman Ryan Kelly and linebacker Reggie Ragland at the annual event. Like their head coach, these veterans answered plenty of questions on their preparation for the upcoming season in Tuscaloosa.

Now that the dust has settled from media days, here are a few key quotes and takeaways from Saban and the rest of the Alabama contingent in Hoover.

Saban, the Sugar Bowl and a storm

Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

Saban caused what was perhaps the biggest controversy of the entire media days event Wednesday when he mentioned his desire for the NFL Draft Advisory Board to move back their grading process for interested underclassmen.

He mentioned the draft grades having an effect on Alabama prior to January’s Sugar Bowl loss to eventual national champion Ohio State.

“I just felt like, in our experience last year, our team chemistry from the SEC Championship Game to the playoff game was affected by something,” Saban said.

Last year, juniors contemplating the decision to leave school early for the NFL had to submit a request for a draft grade by Dec. 15. Saban said they received those grades “around Christmas” and right during the middle of bowl preparation.

“So I think a week, 10 days [added to the process] would be beneficial,” Saban said. “And I think a rule that says you don’t get information to players on draft status until after they’ve completed their college competition would be beneficial.”

Saban’s comments were immediately taken as an excuse for the loss to Ohio State by media members and college football fans all over the country, but he denied that in a later interview with the SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum.

Saban: “It wasn’t an excuse at all for losing to Ohio State. There’s no excuse.”

— Saturday Down South (@SDS) July 15, 2015

The Alabama head coach had support from his players on this issue and its effects on the Crimson Tide prior to last season’s playoff game.

“I think it should be pushed back,” Ragland told Sports Illustrated‘s Andy Staples. “It would give people more time to make the right decisions for their lives. If you’ve got to rush it, you’re going to make a bad decision.”

No matter how much criticism Saban’s comments received, they were good proposals for change in the draft process and gave interesting insight on what was going on behind the scenes at Alabama prior to the loss in New Orleans.

Here comes Coker

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

QB Jake Coker

Saban was quick to say no one has emerged as the leading candidate for Alabama’s starting quarterback job, but he did give some criteria for the winner.

“That’s going to be one of the keys to the drill in terms of somebody taking the bull by the horns at that position, being assertive, playing with confidence, distributing the ball and executing in a positive way, being a good decision-maker and showing leadership at the same time,” Saban said.

Senior Jake Coker, one of the two presumed front-runners in the race, received some high praise from the head coach during his main media session Wednesday. Saban spoke of Coker on the SEC Network’s broadcast of media days:

Jake Coker has done an outstanding job for us. I think he’s made a tremendous amount of improvement. I think that a better understanding, better knowledge of the system, better knowledge of what we expect, what’s expected of him in our offense are all things that have contributed to his confidence and his performance level.

In terms of leadership, the veteran Coker isn’t overly vocal, but his teammates say he is still showing the qualities of someone who could take over the Alabama offense in place of Blake Sims this season.

“He’s not the most outspoken person,” Drake told AL.com’s Michael Casagrande. “But he’s leading by example, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the competition as it progresses.”

Focusing on the freshmen

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

S Ronnie Harrison

Alabama’s three player representatives at media days each mentioned some freshmen who were catching their eyes this offseason.

“Really, the entire freshman class has impressed me,” Drake told Casagrande. “They came in with the hunger and a lot of will to learn from the older [players] who have been here, and they’ve definitely taken on even leadership roles.”

“I think they’re going to get a shot to play this year, but I tell them all the time, every time [Saban] talks about the process, the process works,” Ragland told Casagrande. “I’m a testament to it myself. It took me a couple of years before I could understand what coach was really talking about, and I started to see everything clearer and better.”

Kelly’s freshman to watch on the offensive line was guard Brandon Kennedy, who enrolled early at Alabama and went through some of spring practice before suffering an injury.

A super summer so far

Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

RB Kenyan Drake

After the arrests of four Tide players in the spring, Bleacher Report’s Marc Torrence put “stay out of trouble” in his summer checklist for Alabama earlier this year.

The Crimson Tide have done just that this summer, and Saban is pleased with their progress.

“[I told] them how well I think they’re doing this summer—working hard, everybody’s all into doing things the way we want them to do them, not a lot of negative energy around, a lot of positive energy, a lot of good character, a lot of positive leadership,” Saban said.

The spring had several headaches for the Alabama program, but everything has calmed down as fall camp approaches.

For Saban and every Alabama fan, that’s the best news you can get out of the long offseason. As Saban said on the SEC Network:

The good news at this time of year is there’s no news. If there’s no news, that means your players are doing the right things personally, they’re doing a good job academically, they’re all into what they should be doing to get prepared for the season, and that has certainly been the case with our team this summer and since spring practice.

They’ve done extremely well in terms of their decision-making and judgment.

All quotes taken from SEC Network broadcast unless otherwise noted.

Justin Ferguson is an on-call college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Just shy of one month from kicking off the 2015 campaign, Alabama Soccer has been busy integrating with the community as the team prepares for the upcoming season. The Crimson Tide recently opened its doors and welc…

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Junior tight end O.J. Howard was nominated for the 2015 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The award is one of the most esteemed off the field honors in college football and recognized an all-time high 197 nominees for the 2015 season.

During his time at Alabama, Howard has done a wide range of community service activities both locally and across the state and region. The junior has spent extensive time working with children as well as the elderly in his two years as a member of the Crimson Tide football team.

He regularly visits Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, and spent time at Children’s of New Orleans on the team’s two bowl trips in the past two seasons. While at home in Prattville, Ala., Howard has worked closely with the Field of Dreams organization, helping to build baseball and softball fields for special needs children. He has also developed a relationship with several of those players, making in-home visits to lift their spirits when he returns home each year.

Howard has spent time with children at Davis Emerson Middle School and Verner Elementary, and has served as a mentor at the Rock Quarry Middle School. On campus in Tuscaloosa, he has taken part in the athletics department’s annual Halloween Extravaganza and Read Bama Read initiatives, while speaking at Crossing Points.

Other volunteer activities for the tight end have included visiting patients at the Glen Haven retirement home and spending time regularly with veterans at the Tuscaloosa VA hospital.

The final roster of 22 award recipients will be unveiled in September. From the nominees submitted by sports information directors across the nation on behalf of their schools, a special voting panel consisting of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members and prominent college football media members will select the 2015 Good Works Team.

Since its inception in 1992, the award highlights the “good” taking place off the football field. The select group of student-athletes nominated for this award by their respective colleges and universities are able to balance academics and athletics, while remaining committed to helping others and bettering their communities.

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaFTBL on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaFBL on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama tennis is set to host the ITA Summer Circuit Tournament this weekend, welcoming over 120 tennis players to Tuscaloosa for the three-day weekend event. A full 64-person singles and 32-team doubles draw is expected for both men’s and women’s competition. Matches will run July 18-20 and begin at 9 a.m. CT each morning at both the Alabama Tennis Stadium and the student recreation courts.

Since its inception in 1993, nearly 30,000 men and women have competed in the ITA Summer Circuit, presented by the USTA. Providing college and junior athletes (along with alumni) the opportunity to compete in organized events year round, the Circuit remains open to anyone as long as he/she is a current ITA member. There are nine regional circuits that span across the United States, which include 36 different tournaments.

The ITA Summer Circuit is currently made up of nine regional circuits (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Central, Mountain, Texas, Northern California and Southern California) consisting of four consecutive open tournaments played during the month of July, leading up to the ITA/USTA National Summer Championships in Bloomington, Indiana in August.

No-Ad scoring will be used for both singles and doubles matches. Singles matches will be best two out of three, while doubles will run as an eight-game pro set with a tiebreaker at 8-8.

Practice courts are available all day today on a first come, first serve basis.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama tennis is set to host the ITA Summer Circuit Tournament this weekend, welcoming over 120 tennis players to Tuscaloosa for the three-day weekend event. A full 64-person singles and 32-team doubles draw is expected for both men’s and women’s competition. Matches will run July 18-20 and begin at 9 a.m. CT each morning at both the Alabama Tennis Stadium and the student recreation courts.

Since its inception in 1993, nearly 30,000 men and women have competed in the ITA Summer Circuit, presented by the USTA. Providing college and junior athletes (along with alumni) the opportunity to compete in organized events year round, the Circuit remains open to anyone as long as he/she is a current ITA member. There are nine regional circuits that span across the United States, which include 36 different tournaments.

The ITA Summer Circuit is currently made up of nine regional circuits (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Central, Mountain, Texas, Northern California and Southern California) consisting of four consecutive open tournaments played during the month of July, leading up to the ITA/USTA National Summer Championships in Bloomington, Indiana in August.

No-Ad scoring will be used for both singles and doubles matches. Singles matches will be best two out of three, while doubles will run as an eight-game pro set with a tiebreaker at 8-8.

Practice courts are available all day today on a first come, first serve basis.

Bookmark & Share

Advertisements

Crimson Quotations

“Regardless of who was coaching them, they still would have been a great team. I said early in the season that they were the nicest, even sissiest, bunch I ever had. I think they read it, because later on they got unfriendly.”